If you wanted a hunky guy who could build anything and has the means to own a tricked-out, $30,000 pickup truck — not that we're looking or anything! — check out the crowd picking up goods each morning at Far West Plywood in Northridge. It's frequented by contractors, not average Joes puzzling over the power drills at Home Depot. Operated by the same family since 1960, Far West Plywood boasts the highest grades of hardwood, moldings and finished and unfinished paneling, not to mention melamine, particle board, laminates, flooring and siding. The huge, steel-walled warehouse looks like some kind of replacement structure erected after a hurricane. Don't be fooled: Although the address sounds like Parthenia near Reseda Boulevard, it's Parthenia Place — an obscure dead end next to the railroad tracks. It's the sort of secret, high-quality spot you have to live in L.A. for years to discover. —Jill Stewart

18450 Parthenia Place, Northridge, 91325. (818) 885-1511, farwestplywood.com.

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